Dothack Missing Goddess
by P1Bres
Summary: An unstable network, a goddess changed, closed betas coming and going in a blink... Enough about The World and the net surrounding it is enveloped in enough mystery to catch the eye of countless players and non-players alike. (crossposted from Ao3)
1. Forum

Sora had noticed a lot of strange things going on in The World, recently. Last year there'd been that closed beta that closed suddenly, servers were shakier (though that seemed to be the whole internet), and the statue of the goddess…

Well, the goddess's statue looked different now. Hair shorter, face a little more youthful… It didn't look bad, but that wasn't the woman she'd come face to face with. It was someone else.

She looked at the forums of The World and groaned. Her thread about the weird statue change had been deleted by admins. She didn't think it would happen before she got a reply or two…! What did she do now? She couldn't just forget about it…

Then she remembered another forum Tomohiko. Unofficial, for any and everything… Maybe if she posted it there she would get an actual answer to what was going on. Couldn't hurt to try, right…?

Hopefully her grandpa wouldn't realize she was doing it…

**Sora_Kite: **_Does anyone know why the goddess statue in The World changed? It doesn't look right anymore, and none of the logs mentioned a change… I tried to ask on the forums for the game, but it got deleted :(._

An image attached and… There. She put her phone down let out a sigh. She'd wait a day and see what happened. No replies and she'd try and forget about it…

* * *

Kazushi tried to avoid The World as much as he could, tried to keep the memories in the past where they belonged… But it seemed like the game wanted to find him, if this forum post he stumbled across was anything to go by.

A change in the most recent version, something too big to be a bug… If the Cobalt Knights were still around (were they, he wondered for a moment) they'd likely be put in charge of it…

And he'd feel sorry for whoever'd have to end up taking the blame when something went wrong. After all, with The World, something always went wrong.

But the image attached… The apparently changed goddess statue put a name on his lips once again.

Lycoris.

It was as if Lycoris was allowed to grow, as if she hadn't been deleted. Forever a part of the scenery… The thoughts made tears sting at his eyes, and he fought them back. His curiosity, however, was not as easy to fight back.

He just had to make sure it wasn't her .

**K_W: **_Do you have more information on this change? Has anything else odd happened?_

He sat back, letting his eyes close as memories played across his mind. Hopefully this time, whatever this was, didn't end in tragedy.

* * *

Aida was way too curious about the deleted post she saw on The World forums. Who had posted it? What had it said…? After watching the events in 2022 and that whole beta fade into obscurity, she couldn't help but feel CCorp might be covering something up…

Reiko always warned her to not stick her nose too deep into any business anymore, to stay safe… But it was bothering her! She needed to know what was going on, in case it could affect her or her friends…

With a groan, she scanned the forums for any other mention of the deleted post. Nothing…

Well, there was that general board that was a free for all… Maybe she could ask around and see if any players saw it before it was deleted! Making her way to the right webpage, it didn't take long to find just the topic she needed.

So another player had noticed things changing and getting weird in the game, huh? So she definitely wasn't crazy, thank goodness… Weird that the goddess statue changed, though. You think CCorp might mention it as an aesthetic change if it meant something…

"Mmm… Oh well, I guess."

**Sakuya: **_I wanna know more, too! It's weird CCorp didn't even mention it… Is it some sort of weird texture glitch, maybe?_

Hopefully this Kite_Sora or H_W would reply soon…

* * *

An could never forget about The World, even if they never logged in anymore. Even if they hadn't for years now... After all, without it, all those people so important to them would have never walked into their life. Mariko, Ryo, Mimiru…

Macha and Aura… They wouldn't log in, but when they thought of those two, the temptation built. What they wouldn't do to know how Aura was doing now… After what mother had…

They shook their head, pushing away those memories. It was better now, and they were sure Aura was, too.

Well, they were until they got a message, telling them to check out a forum post, from Mimiru.

A forum post, with only two replies… The first with a picture. A picture of what was supposed to be the goddess of The World. Even if Tsukasa hadn't played in years, they'd seen images, knew what Aura looked like and this statue… This statue looked nothing like her.

Terror formed in their gut as they stared. What had happened to her? Where was Aura? Something felt very, very wrong about all of this.

Their fingers shook as they typed a hasty reply, their breath sticking in their throat.

**An_S: **_What happened to Aura…?_

They set their phone down, trying to calm themselves. If something had happened to Aura, they didn't know what they would do.

* * *

Tokio still hadn't found AIKA, but he wasn't about to give up. As long as The World was running, he would keep looking. Besides, it wasn't like he could step away, even if he wanted to. Stopping attempts at forced Real Digitalization was still his job, so why not look for AIKA on the side?

Looking for AIKA was what he was doing right now, actually. Scouring the net for any rumor or mention that could bring him closer to her. Waiting for Mr. Sogabe to contact him if something dangerous came up…

That's how he found a thread about a change in the goddess statue within The World. He stared at the screenshot, eyes narrowing, a name at the tip of his tongue. That was… Zefie.

She looked older, but that had to be Zefie. The way she looked and the strange parting they had in The World R:X just pushed him to feel this had to be the case.

He read over the replies. A direct mention of Aura, but nothing about Zefie. Biting at his fingernail, he finally decided to leave a reply.

**9: **_That's not Aura, I think I might know who it is, though._

Hopefully this wasn't some sort of trick by Mama…

* * *

Asahi had moved on from The World. It had been important to him, back when he was fourteen, but he was thirty now. The days spent playing the game felt like a lifetime ago…

But sometimes, he couldn't help but miss it. He'd met so many people, made so many friends… He could still see the battle against Corbenik when he closed his eyes sometimes. Still dreamt of the first time he saw Skeith…

Maybe that's why he let himself look for information on the newest version. FORCE:ERA seemed alien to him, someone who hadn't played since R:1. So much had changed, so much had been added… But looking at it still made him feel almost nostalgic.

The giant statue of Aura in the middle of it all… He thought of the chained statue of the goddess, the first time he laid eyes on it when he saw that.

But, according to this forum, the statue was no more. At least, not in the form Asahi had seen in images before. A new goddess, someone who wasn't Aura, her statue now stood in the center of everything…

Something about it made Asahi's stomach churn.

**A_K: **_Why would Aura be replaced? This doesn't sit right with me._

He bit his lower lip, staring at the screenshot as he hit send on his message. "Aura… What happened?"

* * *

Ryou knew what his job at NAB. He had to look for cyber crimes and, currently, watch out for huge network crashes (that may or may not be linked to hackers). Ever since last year, his job had gotten a whole lot harder, and his ideas ignored a whole lot more.

Maybe that was why he decided to do some investigating on his own. He felt like something was wrong, like things had been wrong back in 2016… But no one would listen, no one except for Reiko.

But even she wasn't much help right now. She'd give him a sorry frown, tell him to hold on a bit longer. Surely this storm would be passed soon enough, they just had to keep doing their job…

But screw that. The impulsive side of Ryou won out, so here he was, scouring the internet for anything that could point to why things were so wonky right now. Anything that could be considered a lead…

That's when he found a screenshot from the current version of The World. It reminded him of the goddess that abandoned The World R:2, though this time, it was as if she left behind a replacement before leaving.

That didn't seem right to him. If Aura left again, why would she leave behind someone else to worship? He'd barely interacted with the AI Goddess, but that didn't seem to be her style at all.

**Haseo: **_Something about this is wrong. If Aura left The World to its own devices, she wouldn't leave someone else to be worshipped. She'd leave, like in R:2._

Well, maybe he had found a lead on what the hell was giving him that bad feeling already.

* * *

After returning Zefie to Aura, Shugo found himself drifting away from games and towards basketball. For years, it was like that… Of course, the goddess and her child remained at the back of his mind, but that wasn't what he focused on. Not anymore.

He hoped they were doing alright, with Network Crises and more popping up everywhere… Those sucked enough for humans, he could only imagine what it was like for AIs, stuck inside the actual network.

And the constant instability of the net had him thinking about them more often. How were they holding up with all of this…? He didn't want to lay down money on The World FORCE:ERA to try and find them (after all, there was a good chance he wouldn't be able to with how big the game was), so maybe an internet search would sate the curiosity.

After looking for a while, though, he felt nothing but regret. If Zefie had grown up, a screenshot on a random forum wasn't how he wanted to learn about it.

**S_Kunisaki: **_I know who that is, too… She looks older than when I knew her, though… What's been happening in The World since I quit playing?!_

What had happened to Aura and Zefie?

* * *

**Sora_Kite: **_Eh?! So people do know what's going on with the statue?! Please, tell me everything you know!_

**Sakuya: **_Me too, me too! I wanna know too. I bet ** K_W, An_S, **and ** A_K** would too!_

**Haseo: **_I want more information. Who is this if it's not Aura? Why was she left behind when Aura left nothing before?_

**9: **_More people than I thought are curious about this… It could be dangerous, though. Everyone, be careful._

**S_Kunisaki: **_I wanna go into The World! I wanna see the woman the statue is modelled after!_

**A_K: **_Should we all meet up in The World and talk about what's going on, then? Seems like it would be the best bet._

**An_S: **_I'm wary of online games, but… if it'll work the best, I guess I can buy a subscription._

**K_W: **_I feel similarly to ** An_S** … If we do meet in The World, where will we meet?_

**Sora_Kite: **_Uh… I'll whisper a place to all of you… Next week, let's meet at the location I send you all!_

* * *

So uh, recently finished going thru some of the S3 media (specfically end part of Link and all of Bullet) and. This fic has been smacking around my brain since I got thru Legend of the Twilight, so... Why not write it? Lmao

Ships that'll 100% eventually be added bc Self-Indulgence is my passion:  
-Albireo/Hokuto  
-Tsukasa/Subaru  
-Haseo/Azure Knights  
-Tokio/Saika  
-Sakuya/Mary AND/OR Tobias


	2. Cathedral

Hidden Forbidden Holy Ground… Sora had heard about how important this place was, but it was her first time actually being here. An area that had existed since the original version of The World, she didn't know what to think.

It was gorgeous, that much she could say. A perpetual sunset, a cathedral rising in the distance. She'd heard it was free of loot and enemies around here, so it seemed like a good place to hold a meeting…

But something about this place left a strange feeling in her stomach, a feeling she couldn't quite place as she pushed open the doors and walked into the building. Pews on either side as she approached an empty pedestal.

What used to be on this, if anything, she wondered, running a hand over the smooth surface. It almost looked like the perfect place for a statue, maybe once the goddess statue sat here, instead of in the middle of The World?

She didn't have much time to think on it, though. Soon enough, the doors behind her creaked open. Someone else was here and she needed to prepare herself for whatever she was going to learn.

Squaring her shoulders and sucking in a deep breath, she turned to face whoever had entered.

Plenty of information was on display. Tsukasa, a Wave User was the first to appear. Level one… So this was one of the people who hadn't played in a while. They had white hair, hanging around their face, and red wave markings upon their face. Their purple eyes were wary as they walked in.

But their knowledge of MMOs was fairly apparent when they sent Sora a whisper. "Are you from the forum?"

She nodded. "Mm… Sora_Kite is me!"

"I see." Tsukasa hummed. "...Funny you picked this place for the meet up… I remember when…"

Tsukasa trailed off, sitting on one of the pews and holding their staff close. Sora wasn't sure what to say. The look on their face was so melancholic… Was there anything she could say?

"...Uh… w-which form user are you?"

"An_S." They sat back against the pew. "Sorry, I just… haven't played The World in years. It's hard being back here."

"N-no, it's fine!" Sora moved to sit next to them. "I'm sorry if I picked a bad place to meet…"

Tsukasa shook their. "It's probably for the best I confront the feelings this place gives me, anyway."

"Feelings…?"

Before Tsukasa could say much more, the doors creaked open again. Sora turned to look and something akin to fear gripped her. Information was once again displayed, but it didn't tell her anything good.

9, his class listed as ?, level also hidden from view. And the way he looked, he didn't look anything like a normal player. He was dressed in pants and a hoodie, the kind of thing her friends would wear on their days off…

"H-Hacker?!" She grabbed Tsukasa by the arm, biting her lower lip. Had a hacker replied to the forum posting?! There had been someone going by 9 on there…

"Oh, that does look like one." Tsukasa sounded almost too nonchalant as they looked the man over. "Less extreme than Helba was, at least."

Sora blinked at Tsukasa, head tilted to the side. "Helba?"

"...Don't worry about it, she doesn't matter right now."

"You guys are from the forum too, right?" 9 approached, an awkward smile on his face. "I, uh, know I probably look bad, but I'm on your side…"

"9 from the forum?" Tsukasa rose an eyebrow. "I guess I'm not surprised a hacker knows something about what's going on with Aura… By the way, I'm An_S from the forum, this is Sora_Kite."

"Tsukasa, Kite." He gave a small nod, leaning against the pews. "We're waiting on five more, right?"

"Right." Sora gave a nervous nod. "A-As long as they all come, of course!"

As if on cue, the door once again opened and walked in… Someone else with a Kite-Type PC. Sora hadn't realized when Makoto made her PC, but apparently the general look was fairly popular among players.

Maybe this was Sakuya, then? They seemed to actually play the game, but…

Shugo, Twin Blade, Level one just like Tsukasa. It had to be another one of the forum members, then. He was small, smaller than even Sora was in-game. He almost looked like… a…

"Chibi…" Tsukasa pointed at him, speaking plainly. "I didn't know you could make chibis…"

Shugo groaned, shaking his head. "...I wanted to look as much like I did back in R:1, so if we meet Zefie, she can recognize me."

"Zefie…" 9's mouth was pulled into a frown. "So you noticed that, too… Meaning you're S_Kunisaki?"

"Yeah, that's right…" Shugo looked 9 over. "How do you know about Zefie…? Only me, my sister, and our friends really knew about her… Are you Kamui…?"

"A-Ah…! Um, well, you see…" 9 seemed caught off guard by that, as Shugo continued to look him over. "That can wait until after we discuss what all we know with everyone, right?"

"Hm…"

"I'm here!" A girl's voice rang through the cathedral as another Kite-type PC, this one female, crashed through the doors. Sakuya, Twin Blade, a higher level than Shugo and Tsukasa. Yeah, this had to be the Sakuya from the forum.

"That's great." 9 nodded, trying to push the conversation off of him. "We're only missing three people now!"

"Oh man, I'm later than I wanted to be." Sakuya sighed. "I should've known that all-nighter was a bad idea!"

Tsukasa rose an eyebrow. "Why did you pull an all-nighter?"

"I was really curious about all of this…" She kicked at the floor as she moved to sit next to Sora. "I couldn't stop thinking up theories in my head!"

"I guess we did sorta leave you hanging with information…" Shugo gave a little laugh, scratching his cheek. "But no sleep? Not even an hour?"

"...Maybe thirty minutes…?"

Tsukasa gave Sakuya a look. "...Sleep more after this, okay?"

"Yessir!"

"Don't call me sir, you make me feel like my father."

"Sorry-"

The doors creaked open again and Sora looked, hoping it continued to be people that made sense. One more hacker and she might cry. Albireo, level one… Okay, good. Class- Long Arm?! Sora didn't know much about this game, but there was no way a level one character could have that class!

"A-another hacker!"

"Another one…" Tsukasa's looked. "...That looks like a debugger from R:1, are you sure that's a hacker?"

"He has to be! His class a-and level make no sense." Once again, she was clinging to them.

"...I would never hack the game." He shook his head. "I made a PC to look like my old debugger PC and… Something went wrong with the character creation."

"So the class ended up all weird?" 9 put a hand to his chin and hummed. "Is that possible?"

"Apparently so…" He sighed and revealed a weapon. "The Spear of Wotan was in my inventory when I checked, on top of it all."

That put Shugo on edge. "...If you're here to discuss things, you better not be planning on deleting any AIs with that."

"Of course not." Albireo shook his head and Sora swore there was a tinge of sadness in his eyes. "Never again…"

"Mister Albireo…" Sakuya's eyes were watering up, affected by the look on the man's face. "What happened…?"

He shook his head, staying silent. Shugo glared at him, arms crossed. Sora was starting to think they'd fall into an uncomfortable silence when the door once again opened. Standing there was yet another Kite-type PC.

K1te was the name, as if he wanted Kite but couldn't get it (Sora felt bad if that was the case, after all, she had that handle), a twin blade like the rest of the Kite-type PCs, and level one. So another person who hadn't played in a while.

For a moment, she thought something was on one of his wrists… Almost like a bracelet made of light… but that had to be a trick of the light, she decided. It wasn't there when she looked again, anyway.

"A lot of people here already…" He gave a small laugh, walking up to the group. "Sorry if I'm a little late."

"Oh no, it's fine." 9 shook his head. "You're not even the last one here, so don't worry about it."

"...I wonder when the last one will get here." Sakuya kicked her legs up and down with a frown. "By the way, Albireo, K1te… What are your names on the forums? So we can figure out who's missing!"

"I'm A_K!"

"And I'm K_W…"

"So that leaves…" Sakuya hummed, finger on her chin.

"Just Haseo." Tsukasa spoke up, looking towards the door. "And I think he might be here."

In walked another PC, wearing black and red. Kinda gloomy to look at after the bright and earthy colors of everyone else… His hair was white, eyes red. His name read Haseo and… Wow! His level was high… Probably the highest level here (unless 9 was hiding a level of nine hundred ninety nine or something).

And his class… Represented by glitched text. If she forced herself to make out words, she supposed it might say Adept Rogue, but… That wasn't a class, at least not anymore!

Sora opened her mouth, it felt dry. "H-h-how are you an Adept Rogue?"

"...I dunno, actually." Haseo shook his head and sighed. "I logged in and when it told me I needed to choose a new class, it glitched for a while until I closed it down…"

Kite rose an eyebrow. "You sound really casual about that."

"I've been playing since R:2, during the AID- the black anomalies incident. I'm used to weird things happening with this game."

"That so?" Tsukasa narrowed their eyes as they looked at him. "...Are you sure you've only been playing since R:2…?"

"Never touched the game before I was sixteen…" He put a hand on his hip. "Never touched any sorta virtual reality device until then."

"Interesting…"

"Well…" Albireo looked at the group. "It looks like we're all here. Should we get to discussing the goddess statue?"

"Oh yeah, that!" Shugo clenched his hands. "There's no doubt about it, that statue is of Zefie now, instead of Aura!"

"Zefie…?" Sakuya tilted her head to the side.

"Aura's daughter!"

"Eh?!" Sora's eyes went wide. "She has a daughter?!"

"Oh, good for her." Tsukasa nodded. "Kinda strange hearing that, though. I still remember Aura as just a little girl…"

"That's how I remember Zefie, so I guess we're in the same boat…"

"Zefie…" Albireo furrowed his brow. "She looks so much like… Lycoris."

"Lycoris?" Kite tilted his head to the side. "Who is that?"

"She's-"

Before he could finish his sentence, everyone's attention was drawn towards the front of the cathedral. The warm golden tones were overtaken for a moment, by a blue flame. Sora felt her heart catch in her throat as figures began to appear from it. Three of them, all dangerous looking.

Now what did they do?


End file.
